A Party Like No Other; Or Why Surprise Parties Last Forever

There are many kinds of birthday gifts one can bestow on the important people in your life. They range from the spoken wish, the wish that is texted, emailed, written on someone’s Timeline, handcrafted cards, presents, simple dinners, the throwing of parties, whether big or small.

If you’re like me, you like giving other people gifts. I didn’t always like to do this, either lacking time or money, sometimes imagination. But a card and warm words take very little of each and you’d be surprised how far the written word can go, how deeply they can embed themselves in our hearts.

One of the most elaborate things you could ever give anyone is a party. And not just any party, for that kind takes just a few phone calls and telling the restaurant in advance. The kind of party I’m thinking of is the kind that takes the birthday person by surprise.

A surprise party is a clandestine operation, very much like those mounted by the military where emphasis is on the concealment of the operation.

My Top Five Reasons Why A Surprise Party is So Very Special

#5: Like clandestine military operations, a surprise party operates on the elements of secrecy and stealthiness. The birthday person must not only be kept in the dark, but must not have cause to smell a rat or it’s game’s over.

#4: Stealthiness requires advance planning, foresight, anticipation of potential problems, and thus, a great deal of thought and energy. A broad set of tactics are used to preserve the element of surprise. The bigger the guest list, the higher the risk of exposure and chances of arousing the suspicion of the birthday person.

#3: Every one on the guest list belongs to this special team who are connected by this single thread of knowledge that the ene– I mean, the birthday person, is ignorant of. And this status must remain constant until D-minute when the VIP walks in.

#2: Latecomers are the fatal error that fizzles a potentially good surprise. Guests taking the train or bus or coming from work must alert themselves to not bumping into the VIP on the way to the surprise venue.

#1: There is only one reason why surprise party planners would go through so much time and trouble to launch something as clandestine as this, and it arises simply out of mutual appreciation that is river-deep and rests on affection that is true.